There have been times in this nation’s history – at the onset of the Civil War, the Great Depression of the 1930s, the assassination of President Kennedy, and the aftermath of the 911 tragedy – when Americans were full of apprehension and possessed a great deal of fear about the direction in which this country was heading.

In the America of today, we have just entered into another of those troubling periods as this government has now come under the total control of the newly designated president, Donald J. Trump and the Republican Party.

All I can say is “God save America.”

With Trump as the leader of this country and government, and the GOP in total control of the Congress the big question is: can the two co-exist, can they, will they work together to implement a combined agenda under the banner of the Republican Party when their political ideologies are not in sync?

These are two very rigid, unbending entities that are used to being in full control. They will vigorously pursue their own iron-fisted agendas. No matter which of these agendas are followed, the survival of America, as we have known it, is at stake. America has enough of unaddressed problems and it looks like we will have many more under the control of these two forces.

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Based on what we have seen Trump do and say, and what we know about the GOP, it’s almost inevitable that America is headed toward some combination of an oligarchy and autocracy; one in which a relatively small group of the richest, most powerful and influential Americans and corporations, headed by an autocrat, will control every aspect of the direction of this country and the lives of its people.

Trump just held a news conference that says a lot about how he plans to lead this country. Most of those who viewed it will come away with a picture of a very determined individual that intends to do things his own way, no matter what it takes or who or what must be moved out of his way.

He clearly came across as that egomaniac, self-centered narcissist that we saw during this election campaign; one that claims to know all of this country’s problems in great depth and has solutions for every one of them; and that when he decides on how to proceed to attack them then there will be no opposition allowed.

He has indicated that he will deal with all other countries diplomatically and try to build relationships, that is, as long as they “Dance to the tunes” he plays.

So as this country enters into a period of its history that is going to be filled with great apprehension and a great deal of fear of the future, let’s take a look at several scenarios that could materialize as Trump and the Republican Party proceed to govern this country. Which one or combination of their agendas will most likely evolve and what will it mean to this country and its people?

In the first Trump will waste no time in fully taking control of this government’s main functions. He will swiftly initiate his autocratic agenda by appointing a right-wing conservative to the Supreme Court; he will attempt to have the great wall built, start the process of deporting millions of undocumented Hispanic immigrants, and create a Muslim registry.

Trump will attempt to bond with Russia and Putin. Relations with China will deteriorate, torture of suspected enemies will be re-instated, and journalists will come under vicious attack if they dare to question anything he says or does.

In this scenario, Democrats will resist almost everything he tries to do. Republicans will, at first, try to cooperate with Trump’s plans to “Make America great again”, especially on those parts that they feel could advance their own plans. In this scenario, America will rapidly head down the wrong road leading to disastrous results.

In a different scenario which features a clash of wills, Republicans will adamantly disagree with his agenda and move to advance their own by trying to use their total control of both the House and the Senate to take charge of the direction of America.

They will try to get Democrats to help them override Trump’s certain vetoes of a great deal of their legislation and get their assistance to block his attempts to move his key priorities through Congress. That will entail a massive battle for control and what we will see will resemble a political version of the Gunfight at the OK Corral.

Paul Ryan and his cohorts will waste no time in starting the process of either watering down, radically changing, or even eliminating a good portion of this country’s social safety net, i.e., Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Obamacare and even Snap, the food stamp program.

They will also take steps to eliminate government rules and regulations designed to prevent abusive practices in the banking sector, what’s left of America’s manufacturing sector, and in industries such as coal mining and fracking. Climate change will be totally ignored. Corporate America will become even more powerful. The already massive gap in the inequality of those at the top and the rest of America will continue to grow.

Trump will, for the most part, with aid of Democrats, not go along with the GOP’s plans for the destruction of the nation’s safety net. However, he will most certainly side with the GOP in the elimination of rules and regulations that will do away with much of his government’s oversight of business activities and America’s environmental safeguards. Trump and the GOP will generally co-exist and get most of what each wants done, but the people of America will be the big loser.

In the last scenario, we will see Trump and the Republicans exercise their iron wills to the point that there will be a huge standoff between the two and we will see an even bigger gridlock and dysfunctionality than now exists in this government.

This outcome will create a massive gridlock in which little or nothing will get done but that will be nothing new for this government. While that state of gridlock is certainly not at all what America, with its many problems, really needs right now, it’s far better than having the foundations of America come under a vicious debilitating attack by this combination of power-crazed entities.

Who knows what will actually happen and which of these scenarios will come to pass? That’s why the mass of Americans better be ready, if they see their country being ripped apart, for once to stand up and fight back with all their might. When the vast majority of 325 million Americans have had more than they can take, when they can’t possibly take anymore, then all hell could break loose across this country.

The track record for Americans’ standing up and fighting back when its government is clearly not doing what is in the best interests of the people has not been very good. Far too many of them don’t seem to have any fight left in them and remain submissive and subservient even when they need to be strongly speaking out against politicians who are badly damaging this country.

The good news is that there will be Congressional elections in 2018, then national elections in 2020; that’s when the American people, who have watched this struggle for power and the damage it is doing to their country take place, need to rise up and join together to take action. They have the power to replace this autocratic administration and a large part of this corrupted, dysfunctional Congress with Americans who can show them that they will do what is right for this country and its people.

So Democrats, independents, the Green Party and others need to begin preparing now to step forward and offer the American people a totally new choice, equipped with a new rational agenda based on doing positive and constructive things to rebuild and strengthen this country.

This new breed of dedicated servants that possess the characteristics of honesty, integrity, and the courage of their convictions need to join with the vast majority of Americans to reverse this current march into a state of autocracy, replacing it with the democratic republic that once made America great.

Michael Payne is an independent progressive activist. His writings deal with social, economic, political and foreign policy issues; and especially with the great dangers involved with the proliferation of perpetual war, the associated defense industry, and the massive control that Corporate America holds over this government and our election process; all which are leading this nation down the road to eventual financial ruin if the conditions are not reversed. He is a graduate of Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois and a U.S. Army veteran.

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